As a former special education teacher, I spent countless hours and evenings writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Over my years in the classroom, I probably wrote around 100 IEPs, ranging from simple updates to extensive re-evaluations of my students’ needs. While I became very familiar with the language and the process of developing these IEPs, they never felt easy, because they were an important way of making sure my students had the support they needed in school. 

I’ve always felt that parent/guardian input is a crucial component of IEP meetings (as you may know from the introductory statements read at the beginning of every meeting!), and I considered it a priority to make sure that my students’ parents and guardians understood what they were agreeing to. Knowing that these IEPs are legal documents that often don’t feel very parent/guardian-friendly, I would take the time to translate the IEP into more comprehensible bits through a slide deck and verbal clarification. (This is also why my meetings were rarely ever shorter than an hour…) However, I do want to recognize that this took a lot of additional time that isn’t always available to those with 50-100 students on their caseload, especially given that many schools have a shortage of special education teachers. 

To support parents and guardians of students with IEPs, I’d love to share some tips for better understanding IEPs, starting with IEP goals! 

TIP #1: Become familiar with the elements of a SMART IEP goal.

I was trained to write IEP goals to be “SMART,” or Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. While each element of a SMART goal makes sense to include and seems completely reasonable, the result can look… complicated. 

Let me show you what I mean: “By March 2022, when given a real-world problem with a table of provided equivalent proportions, [Student Name] will use the table and a teacher-given checklist to calculate additional missing values with 80% accuracy in 3 out of 4 problems, as measured by student work samples.”

…It’s not incomprehensible, but it can be hard to follow. 

Here is a breakdown of a SMART IEP goal using this example (and yes, some parts of the goal may address more than one element!):

Specific: What skill is the goal targeting? What will the student be asked to do? Each academic goal should be closely tied to a state standard or foundational skill!

• Ex: “when given a real-world problem with a table of provided equivalent proportions, [Student Name] will use the table…to calculate additional missing values”

Measurable: How will this goal be measured? What types of assignments, tasks, or trackable data can we look at to see progress? There should be something that we can look at, observe, or hear to determine your student’s progress. This could be a specific type of assignment, logs of the student’s reading in words per minute, observations of a specific behavior, etc. 

• Ex: “with 80% accuracy in 3 out of 4 problems, as measured by student work samples.”

Attainable: Is the goal realistic for this student to achieve in the given time frame? What supports/accommodations will the student be given in order to demonstrate this skill? The goal should be challenging, but reasonable for the student to meet given their current ability, and supportive in helping the student master the concept.

• Ex: “and a teacher-given checklist” could be an accommodation to support this student, and the “80% accuracy” could be a demonstration of what is a realistic expectation for this student.

Relevant: Does this goal address this particular student’s individual needs and draw on their strengths? Is this goal targeting a skill that is crucial to this student’s progress? The goal should be specific to your student!

• Ex: “when given a real-world problem with a table of provided equivalent proportions,” might be targeting the student’s difficulty with solving word problems, and “[Student Name] will use the table and a teacher-given checklist” might draw on the student’s ability to complete tasks when they are broken down.

Time-bound: By when should this student meet this goal? This is usually noted with month and year, as IEPs are held at least once a year. 

• Ex: “By March 2022,”

Hopefully this helps you better understand your student’s IEP goal or feel better equipped to give your own input on goals proposed in their next IEP! If you need a more tailored explanation, or a verbal one, you can use Tip #2!

TIP #2: Ask for help.

An invaluable way to better understand your student’s IEP goals is to connect with your student’s case manager. While you can certainly reach out at any point in the year or after receiving a progress note (every 10 weeks or so), an IEP meeting might be one of the best times to connect. During each IEP meeting, the IEP team discusses, develops, and updates a program for your student - this would be the perfect time to make sure to ask for clarification or examples before agreeing to your student’s new or updated goals. 

Your input as a parent or guardian is crucial, and your understanding of your student’s IEP goals can empower you to advocate for your student and to extend their learning at home. 

You can also seek out help from us at Tutor Corps! Tutor Corps supports our students with IEPs through 1:1 direct instruction tailored to their goals and accommodations, updates on student progress towards the goals they work on during sessions, participation in IEP meetings (if requested), executive functioning support, and mentorship to build student confidence and love of learning. Many of our tutors have special education backgrounds, and some like myself are even credentialed special education teachers. Our tutors make sure to give parents/guardians regular updates on what students work on, as well as strengths and areas for growth that they notice in sessions. If you have any questions about how we can support your student, please reach out.